This is an email from Team Submarine, currently visiting one of our global missions partners in Central Asia (with identifiers removed for safety).

Things have gone extremely well so far. We’ve had a chance to meet E’s team and see glimpses of the many meaningful projects they’re working on, ranging from maternal health trainings to a women’s prison ministry.  We’ve also met many of E’s local friends, sipping endless cups of tea while listening to stories of courage and humor in what appears to be a hard but also beautiful land. We’ve learned that people think Dallas is an Afghan wrestler and Gid is Jackie Chan.

Yesterday we attended the local likeminded weekly service and Jackie Chan was invited to deliver the weekly message. It was a meaningful time and appeared to have greatly encouraged the community. Today we met a young friend of E’s who has gone from juvenile prison to law school and now heads a unique program that uses formal debate to teach young people how to expand their often forcibly restricted worldview. We’ve just completed a 2 hr language lesson and are heading to dinner. Tomorrow we head out to a remote village with some trucks full of school furniture that E’s team has had built the past six months. The minister of economics will accompany us to commemorate the delivery of the desks. Should be a fascinating day.

On Monday we head down to K to see some of the book project team that E has worked with the past six months. Please pray for our continued safety in travel and more importantly for the many wonderful people we have met who are facing a difficult present and a very uncertain future.

That’s it, we love and miss all of you, and hope to share much more of this face to face in a few short days!